3 weeks ago
21
€60m release clause
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Tottenham and Arsenal are poised for another direct battle over a player this summer with both English Premier League clubs interested in Piero Hincapié. The North London rivals went head-to-head for Eberechi Eze with the England international opting to join Mikel Arteta’s men. It was a hugely embarrassing episode for Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy with a sizeable section of the Spurs support believing the 63-year-old should have moved earlier for Eze.
But history could repeat itself with Arsenal now rivaling Spurs for the signature of Bayer Leverkusen star Hincapié. It’s understood that Tottenham have already submitted an official offer to Hincapie with Arsenal yet to make a formal bid but they’ve made an approach. But David Ornstein has suggested that Hincapié would prefer a move to Arsenal and that could represent an unwelcome episode for Spurs.
Arsenal and Tottenham chase Piero Hincapié
It’s understood that Hincapie wants to leave Leverkusen this summer, although he’s contracted with the Bundesliga club until 2029. Leverkusen, however, would ideally keep the Ecuador international but he does have a €60m release clause in his contract. It’s unlikely that either North London club would be willing to activate that this summer and his current market value on Transfermarkt is €60m.
Tottenham’s initial offer was for a loan bid with an obligation to buy for his €60m release clause next summer. Arsenal are yet to make a bid but the New York Times has claimed that their interest could be reliant on their ability to offload unwanted stars - Porto are advancing on a €20m deal for Jakub Kiwior. Hincapie is predominantly a centre-back but he can also be deployed at left-back, which is a huge appeal to Arsenal and Tottenham. The defender was tearful after Erik ten Hag's men's 2-1 weekend defeat to Hoffenheim in an indication of his desire to leave.
On why Hincapie wants to leave Leverkusen, Lennart Gens, Transfermarkt’s Bundesliga expert,said: “Unlike last year, Leverkusen is no longer a contender for the title, but will once again be competing for places 2 to 6. That was also the reason why Granit Xhaka, for example, was determined to leave, and the same is likely to apply to Hincapie. His development in the Bundesliga is complete and in order to take the next step, he must move to the Premier League. Bayer management recently said that they did not want to let any more regular starters go, and that also applied to Hincapie. However, the signing of Loïc Badé last week may have changed that, even though it was said at the time that the current squad of central defenders would remain unchanged. That was probably more of a tactic to keep the price up though.
